1. Motorbike phone and bag snatching
Two-up riders on motorbikes work the busy tourist streets, snatching phones from hands, bags from shoulders and cameras from necks in a split second before vanishing into traffic. The highest-risk zones are around Ben Thanh Market, Bui Vien walking street, Nguyen Hue Boulevard and Dong Khoi Street, exactly where tourists walk with valuables out.
Warning signs
- Walking the kerbside of District 1 streets with a phone held out for maps or photos
- Bag worn loosely on the traffic-side shoulder
- Motorbike slowing as it approaches you from behind
- Crowded crossings where bodies press against you
How to avoid it
- Hold phones firmly and step away from the kerb when using them on the street
- Wear bags cross-body on the side away from traffic
- Keep passports and spare cards in the hotel safe, not in your day bag
- Be prepared to let go of a bag rather than be dragged; injuries happen when victims hold on
Sources
2. Fake Grab drivers and meter fraud around Tan Son Nhat airport
Unlicensed drivers at the airport and bus stations hold up phones and shout ride-app names to harvest tourists who never booked, then charge cash fares far above the app price. Independently, some taxis run tampered 'fast' meters or declare the meter broken and quote inflated flat rates. The FCDO advises booking the full journey in an official app and matching the vehicle and driver details before getting in.
Warning signs
- Man in arrivals shouting 'Grab? Grab?' and waving a phone at you
- Driver cannot show your booking in his own app
- Meter spins implausibly fast or is declared broken at pickup
- Pressure to pay cash instead of the in-app fare
How to avoid it
- Book inside the Grab, Be or Xanh SM app and confirm the driver's name, photo and plate before boarding
- Never get into a car with someone who merely claims to be your app driver
- If taking a street taxi, use Mai Linh or Vinasun and confirm the meter is on
- Photograph the plate before loading luggage
3. Cyclo and xe om price switch near landmarks
Cyclo and motorbike-taxi (xe om) drivers around the War Remnants Museum, Notre-Dame Cathedral and Ben Thanh Market quote a low price, then on arrival claim it was per person, per block or in dollars, demanding several times the agreed sum. There is no meter and no receipt, so the argument happens on the driver's terms.
Warning signs
- Driver waits directly at landmark exits targeting camera-carrying tourists
- Quote given verbally with no willingness to write it down
- Price only 'clarified' at the destination
- A second driver appears to back up the demand
How to avoid it
- Agree the total fare, in VND, for all passengers, before the ride starts, and write it down
- Prefer Grab Bike, which fixes the fare in-app, over street xe om
- Walk a block away from the landmark before engaging any driver
- Pay only what was agreed; walk into a shop or hotel if pressure escalates
4. Shoe shiners and photo scammers on Nguyen Hue walking street
Along Nguyen Hue and around Ben Thanh, shoe shiners point at a scuff, get your shoe off before you can refuse, and then demand 200,000-500,000 VND for work worth a tenth of that. Nearby, vendors offer a 'free' photo with a fruit-basket shoulder pole or props, then aggressively demand payment once the photo exists.
Warning signs
- Stranger crouches toward your feet before you have spoken
- Photo props pressed on you with loud friendliness
- No price mentioned until the service is 'done'
- Sudden crowd of associates when you hesitate to pay
How to avoid it
- Keep moving and say no the moment anyone touches your shoes
- Decline all 'free photo' offers from street vendors
- If you want the photo, fix the price before the camera comes out
- Stand in front of a shopfront or hotel, not mid-pavement, when checking your phone
5. Tourist menus and short-changing in the backpacker zone
Some restaurants around Bui Vien and Ben Thanh display a reasonable menu outside, then hand seated tourists an English menu priced two or three times higher, or add unlisted items to the bill. At shops and stalls, clerks exploit the dong's confusing zeros, swapping your 500,000 VND note for a 20,000 VND one or short-changing in a fast-counted stack of small bills.
Warning signs
- Menu shown outside differs from the menu at the table
- Prices missing for drinks, sides or 'service'
- Cashier counts change quickly and pockets your large note out of sight
- Bill arrives with items you never ordered
How to avoid it
- Confirm prices of everything, including drinks, before ordering; leave if prices are not stated
- Photograph the outdoor menu before sitting down
- Count change at the counter and keep large notes visible until change is given
- Exchange money only at official counters or banks, as Vietnamese law requires
Sources
Practical safety briefing
- Airport arrival: Tan Son Nhat is close to the centre but its arrivals curb is thick with fake 'Grab' touts and meter-cheating cabs. Book your ride in the app and wait for the matched car, or take an official Mai Linh/Vinasun taxi with the meter running.
- Trusted transport: Grab, Be and Xanh SM (cars and Grab Bike); Mai Linh (green) and Vinasun (white) metered taxis; the new metro line for trips along its corridor.
- Money & payments: Use ATMs inside major bank branches (Vietcombank, BIDV, Techcombank) and change cash only at official exchange counters or banks; unofficial changing is illegal. Memorize the blue-toned 20,000 vs 500,000 VND note difference and count change slowly.
Official travel advisories
- UK FCDO — Flags motorcycle bag-snatching as common, links some assaults to unlicensed taxi drivers, and recommends booking transport through official apps such as Grab or XanhSM.
- Australia Smartraveller — Advises using official metered taxis, checking the meter runs, and matching app-booked driver and vehicle details before getting in.
Compiled from documented reports and government advisories. How we verify scams. Last verified July 2026.